Palliative care v. Hospice care

My 67 year old dad was just recently diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer (glioblastoma), and I am new to the terminology, not to mention all of the emotion involved in having a terminally ill parent.  Am I correct that palliative care is sometimes provided by hospice services?  I'm not sure I understand the difference.  Are either or both covered by Medicare? 

Very thankful for your advice............

http://hope.abta.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=14641.0

So sorry to hear about your dad's diagnosis. I know how overwhelming it can be, not only for him but for the caregiver(s) as well. You are correct, palliative care is often offered by hospice services. The difference between the two can vary depending on where you live. Not sure about what is covered in your area. I am in Canada and we had everything covered by the government. My wife recently passed away (2 weeks ago) from brain cancer. Hers started out as anaplastic astrocytoma (grade 3) and eventually progressed to glioblastoma (grade 4). We received palliative care at home until the last 3 weeks of her life when she stayed at a Hospice home. 

Might I suggest, if you haven't done so already, go to the brain cancer section on this site if you have any more questions. There you will find an enormous amount of information and support. It is a very active section with a lot of people going through exactly what you and your dad are going through.

God bless you!

Peter

Hi JB..

Yeah, we're new to this, too. Father in law was diagnosed with lung/lymphatic cancer in May. The docs suggested Hospice, but with that, dad would have to be just about done with treatments. Since he has continued with chemo, we get Home Health visits. It's not as much 'total care' like hospice, but he still receives services such as nurse visits, hygiene visits, physical and occupational therapy and wound care. Dad has Medicare and Tricare [for Veterans], and everything is covered. Your dad's doc will need to prescribe hospice/home health-- ask them to suggest a service, then interview the companies to see what they'll offer. We interviewed two companies. One representative did not even speak to Dad- she directed all questions to me and my husband, even though Dad was sitting right there. That crossed them off our list immediately.

Drop me a note if you want to talk more... in the meantime, a big hug from me-- being the caregiver SUCKS, no matter how much you love the person!

~Terry

Oh! BTW, there are two different comparisons to make.

Pallative Care vs. Aggressive Treatment.  Pallative care is just to make someone comfortable. Treatment is aimed at curing / getting into remission.

Hospice care vs. Home Health care.  They're similar, but hospice is for when you've ended or just about ended treatments [chemo or radiation]. Home health can assist you with limited services while your person is still receiving treatments.

~T.

I don't know where you are at but just a note if your father does pass away check with your government because you might not be responsible for any medical bills that were left by your father. Unless of course he has an estate open then the estate will pay for everything.

Hospice is end of life care and most insurances pay for it all. You can also check into a government run secondary such as a Medicaid or Medicaid HMO for your dad. Since he has a life threatening illness he might qualify.

Yes, hospice care does include palliative care with some health care providers. Check, New Jersey Home Care. They are professionals and provide all kinds of nursing services and other related assistance, from critical to companionship requirement. Their nurses are specially trained for symptom control and pain management techniques for any kind of Palliative care – all made available at your residence. Go to their website for more information on their services and other various facilities provided by them. You can check with them for related information on Medicare privileges.

Best wishes.

New Jersey Home Care: http://www.meridianathome.com